TONER LAW FIRM ARCHIVES

CASE FILE: BETINA FILS-AIME V. RYDER TRS, INC. ET AL. ​

TONER LAW FIRM EXTENDS NEW YORK AGENCY LAW TO COLLEGE STUDENTS The year was 2003, I was hired on a routine car accident case. A Ryder Rental truck had failed to yield at a red light and crashed into four vehicles. As a result of the accident, my client received a Traumatic Brain Injury. The Ryder truck had only a million dollars in insurance coverage, not enough to cover my client's severe injuries. After deposing the driver of the truck (Vermilyea), we learned that he was a student in the Animal Science Program at Cornell University and was employed during the Summer at a Reproductive Science Lab here on Long Island. We further learned that he had negotiated a donation of a truckload of old equipment from the Science Lab to Cornell. Cornell reimbursed him for the truck to drive the equipment from Long Island to Ithaca N.Y. It was just a few miles into the trip when the accident occurred. We brought Cornell into the case under a respondent superior theory that Vermilyea was acting as Cornell’s agent. The issue was litigated in the Second Department Appellant Division – and New York agency law was extended to College students. Keeping Cornell in the case meant a deep pocket for recovery. I obtained a multi-million dollar settlement for my client, with Cornell University kicking in the lion's share. http://www.courts.state.ny.us/…/3dseries/2007/2007_04442.htmJudge Palmieri's decision:https://www.casemine.com/judgeme…/…/591472c9add7b049343846ebLaw review article: https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage…New York Commercial Litigation Treatise:https://books.google.com/books…